The National Sanitation City

If you ever find yourself walking around the city thinking, “Damn, this town has good sanitation. There should be some kind of award for the sheer lack of shit on the street,” don’t worry, because there is. In 2005, Dongguan received “National Sanitation City” status from, that most august of bodies, the National Patriotic Sanitary Committee. In 2009 and 2013, Dongguan passed tests organized by the committee and, for now at least, has held on to the honorable title. As of March this year, only 216 cities have the title, a mere third of the nation’s cities. The most significant achievements Dongguan achieved in order to obtain this title, are the newly-founded 33 community health centers and 357 community health stations scattered all over the city, as well as new facilities for Dongguan People’s Hospital, Dongguan Women and Children’s Hospital, Disease Control and Prevention Center, and Hospital of Traditional Medicine.